Borehamwood, UK — (press release excerpt) — SuSE Linux released a “Firewall on a CD”, a format that is more secure and easier to install and maintain. The “SuSE Linux Firewall on CD”, due to be presented at LinuxTage Expo in Stuttgart this week, was designed as an application level gateway and combines the high security standards of a hardware solution with the flexibility of a software firewall.

The SuSE Linux Firewall on CD checks, monitors, analyses, and logs ongoing data transfer, thereby providing a maximum level of security. A special characteristic of the SuSE Linux Firewall is the so-called live system, which enables the operating system to be booted directly from CD-ROM (read-only) instead of being installed on the hard disk. Thus the live system constitutes a security gain, since it is impossible to manipulate the firewall software on CD-ROM. The configuration files for the firewall — such as the ipchains packet filter settings — are placed on a write-protected configuration floppy.

When attacks are launched on a company's mission-critical data, the SuSE Linux Firewall on CD not only protects the network against external access, it can also define limits for various divisions within the company. The SuSE Linux Firewall on CD continuously logs the data transfer, thereby providing transparent information on all accesses.

In addition, an http content filter provides the possibility of filtering HTML pages effectively. Undesired contents can be recognised and blocked. The proxy server, which is based on the Open Source program package “squid”, accelerates Internet operations by saving pages which were viewed previously and quickly reloading them on request. Further features include syslog, postfix as mail relay, and SSH support.

The source code, which is supplied together with the solution, enables adaptation to specific requirements. A second CD contains the “Firewall Administration System”, a set of convenient tools for quick configuration and rational administration of even multiple firewalls.

 
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